Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURBDAY, MAY 12, 1877.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3904, 12 May 1877, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURBDAY, MAY 12, 1877.

The Hawke's Bay Herald, of August 15, 1868, has the following paragraph :— Tidal disturbances of a very marked character occurred at this port on Saturday last, as well as, according to telegrams received, at the chief ports on the East Coast of both islands. From an early hour on Saturday morning till a late hour in the evening the tide may be said to have ebbed and flowed every hour — the rise and fall in each case being surprisingly sudden. At half-past 7 a.m. and half -past 4 p.m. the most marked of these phenomena were observable — the rise and fall in these instances having probably not been less than six feet. In one of these the sea receded so far as to leave the wreck of the Montmorency high and dry, while the Saucy Lass, which was then being piloted into the Iron Pot, was washed to a position nearly behind the breastwork, and left for a time all but out of water. Conjecture is rife as to the cause of phenomena so extraordinary, but the general opinion is that a submarine volcano, or some sudden upheaval must have occurred in the vicinity of these islands. The description might almost pass for a description of the state of things observable at Port Ahuriri yesterday, and during the night previous. Even the illustrations might be \ised again. One could very nearly have walked on board the wreck of the Montmorency yesterday. The recent tidal disturbances were, however, so far as we can judge, both intenser and more protracted than those of 1868. They appear to have lasted about twelve hours in 1868 : they lasted at least twenty-four hours yesterday, and, indeed, they were still going on at our last advices. It is said too that then the tide flowed and ebbed every hour. Yesterday, from high tide to high tide, was on the average less than half an hour. The small lagoon on the right hand side of the road going towards the Spit, which is about to be reclaimed, was twice full and twice empty within an hour. Similar disturbances occurred in 1868 —as yesterday — all along the coast. We know now what the disturbances of 1868 indicated. During the following September we received a letter from our Chatham Islands correspondent, telling us that on the 13th of August — that is, two clays before the disturbances at the port — three vast tidal waves, such as had never been known within the memory of man, swept over the islands one after another, carrying away everything before them. "Houses, pahs, and bush, in proximity with the shore, were carried away and engulphed in the drawback." What the Chatham Islands suffered, however, was a very small matter in comparison with the terrible calamity which visited another part of the globe. The arrival of the Panama steamer, in the beginning of the following October, brought the intelligence which runs as follows : — " A frightful earthquake took place on the 13th August, 1868, and following days, in Peru and Ecuador. Thousands of lives have been lost. Cities, villages, and towns in the interior and on the coast, have been laid in ruins. It is the most fearful earthquake ever recorded, and has been attended with enormous destruction of property. The loss of life is very great. The town of Inquique is completely swept away, and the ports of Mexilones, Pisagua, Arica, Ylo, and Challa have shared the same fate ; Arequipa, the second city of the republic, has been levelled with the ground ; at Ylo not a vestige of habitation of any kind is left, either in the port or the town ; Cerro de Pasca is in ruins. The loss of property is estimated at 300 millions of dollars." Then followed more than a column of telegrams, giving details of the great calamity — a calamity, indeed, which was probably more serious even than the earthquake at Lisbon, though in consequence of the remoteness of the occurrence from Europe it did not create so great a sensation. We fear that there is little room for doubt that ere long we shall learn of some calamity similar to that of 1868 having occurred in another part of the world — probably again on the shores of South America.